5 Onmisbare Accessoires voor Draaitafels voor DJs

You've decided to purchase your first turntable, but when you start spinning records, you'll need to put in a little extra effort to organize your music, keep your records in good condition, and properly set up your turntable.

You might also need additional tools to keep your vinyl records and stylus clean. Fortunately, this can be achieved with simple and cost-effective steps!

In our guide, you'll discover what vinyl accessories the DJ really needs.

1. Proper Storage

Once you've purchased your first records, you need to find a place where you always have them on hand when you want to play them. This may seem obvious, but constantly reaching for them in inconvenient places can ruin the vibe of spinning records.

There are plenty of vinyl boxes available in standard sizes and various colors that enable clean and practical storage. With the Zomo VS-Box series, you can easily browse through your favorite records and store your entire collection.

When setting up the turntable, make sure the platter is level so the needle can track in the center of the grooves. This can be done with a suitable level, useful for aligning the platter and tonearm.

Sometimes additional measures may be necessary to minimize unwanted vibrations and feedback, especially if your turntable is near other audio devices or speakers.

In such cases, the Luke ASB-1 can be a useful solution. This device provides additional isolation between the turntable and the surface it's placed on, reducing disruptive influences on sound. While the Luke ASB-1 may not be necessary for home use, it can be a valuable tool, especially if you're performing in different venues and facing varying conditions.

2. Cleanliness

After checking the storage and proper setup, the next point on the list should be cleanliness. As annoying as it may be, vinyl records need your attention because even a small amount of dust or dirt can make them sound unpleasant.

You should get into the habit of keeping your records clean early on because once you start getting gigs, you'll find that a single dirty record can clear the dance floor in no time because it sounds so terrible when the needle picks up the dust and pushes it through the grooves.

Cleaning records can happen at various levels, but an absolutely essential tool is an antistatic carbon fiber brush, an inexpensive and highly effective tool for quickly brushing dust off the record without scratching or damaging it. You should use it every time you play a record because your records inevitably pick up a bit of dust every time you take them out of the sleeve, no matter how well protected they are. Fortunately, the whole process only takes a few seconds, but it's important to know how to use the brush correctly.

If you also want to clean the turntable needle, be especially careful not to damage the needle and the tonearm, and we advise against using cleaning fluids for the turntable needle as they could damage the interior of your cartridge.

While a brush is sufficient in most cases, DJs typically touch the surface of the record, and the moisture from our hands can cause dirt and deposits to adhere to the vinyl, or sometimes small liquid particles can get into the grooves, also causing crackling and popping.

However, once you notice that one of your records crackles during playback, it's very likely that it's excessively dirty at some point in the groove or has been damaged.

If it's just dirt, this can be removed with a microfiber cloth and some cleaning fluid, but you might want to do a full deep cleaning with a proper cleaning machine to completely rejuvenate your record. If you want a very thorough cleaning, you might benefit from the Knosti Disco-Antistat ultrasonic cleaning device, which not only penetrates deeper into the grooves but also ensures longer-lasting cleanliness.

3. Smooth Rotation

An erratic rotation is also a factor that can cause an unbalanced sound. By unbalanced sound, we mean that the needle may constantly deviate from the center of the groove due to irregularities in rotation, leading to slight distortions. This can happen for various reasons: warped records, lightweight records, incorrect tonearm balance, incorrect cartridge setup, too slippery a surface, etc.

This can be easily corrected by adding extra weight to your record with an appropriate record stabilizer. Not only do they ensure smooth rotation and balanced sound, but they are also very elegant and available in various finishes. The Recordcase Vinyl Stabilizer can also provide an indication if the record is running stable and level thanks to the bubble level on its top.

Some records can warp significantly over time, which can also lead to distortions and skips. Correcting warped records is not possible without proper tools and should be a very delicate process. Therefore, we strongly advise against amateur methods like putting the record in the oven unless you're willing to sacrifice your record if something goes wrong (and the likelihood is high that it will).

An appropriate record flattening tool can be a significant investment, but if you have a large collection of rare releases that require special care, or if you're simply attached to some of your older records, it can make a major difference in sound.

4. Suitable DJ Slipmats

In case you find the slipmats from your turntable manufacturer boring, you can outfit your turntables with a wide selection of slipmats.

Slipmats also vary significantly in quality. Some are better suited for DJ techniques or scratches, while others are more for aesthetics.

Most of them are universally usable and serve their purpose, but you can also find some specialized slipmats for scratching, like the Dr. Suzuki 12" Skratch slipmats.

5. Secure Storage During Transport

Finally, once you have enough records for a decent DJ set, you should get yourself a suitable record case, as you might get gigs faster than expected, and you don't want to show up with your records in a grocery bag. Also, you want your records to arrive exactly as they left your studio, without scratches or deformations.

There are different types of vinyl bags and hardshell cases that offer adequate protection. Just make sure you can load them to at least 60-70% so your records don't bounce around during transport.

Playing records is one of the most beautiful experiences a DJ can have. So, make sure you get the most out of your collection by following these simple steps!

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